Crime drops by 50 percent compared to last year as police hail successful weekend at British Grand Prix at Silverstone

Picture: Northamptonshire Police

Published:07:44Monday 06 July 2015

Crime over the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone dropped by 50 percent compared to the previous year, according to figures from Northamptonshire Police.

With more than 240,000 people visiting the circuit over the three days, a total of 17 crimes had been reported compared to 33 in 2014.

Superintendent Mick Stamper, who led the policing operation for Northamptonshire Police, said: “It’s been a great success this year. The level of crime is the lowest we’ve had in many years, so it’s been a good operation for us.”

To deter criminals, officers carried out high profile patrols both inside the circuit and around the neighbouring campsites before, during and after the Grand Prix.

Crimes which were recorded over the weekend included four thefts from tents, three assaults, two mobile phone thefts, a bicycle theft and a theft from a car.

Other crimes included one alleged fraud around the purchase of tickets, one for the possession of a bladed instrument and four for the possession of drugs.

Supt Stamper said: “We’ve been very proactive with things like the campsites this year. We started our crime operation there very early and that allowed us to make arrests early on. I’m convinced that’s affected the amount of crime we’ve had.